Observations-
-high tide (last time the tide was really low)
-fairly calm (there was a lot more surf)
-lots of birds perched on wall (last time birds were on the sandy area looking for food)
-lots of surfers/fisherman coming in and out (last time there were less)
-lots of crabs on sandy/rocky area
-lots of little fish by/under the bushes (protection)
-fish are jumping, perhaps predators are present
-Kolea are gone (migration?)
Proposed answers:
-How did the dead fish get into there?
The dead fish probably got there because of fisherman or natural causes. I think it’s possible that a fisherman could have done it because the size of the fish was very large, so it would be very unlikely for a fish of that size to be swimming in water so shallow. Another possibility is that when the tide was very high, it swam into shore, and then the tide lowered and the fish was trapped in here.
-Are the bigger fish preying on smaller fish, or are they parents?
I think that it is a mixture of both. With little baby fish around, that has to mean that there are parent fishes around as well. But then again, with small, defenseless fish, there are bound to be predators preying on them.
-What do the Kolea eat? Are they fast enough to catch fish?
I think that the kolea do eat the fish. I think they eat the fish because if they were too slow to catch the fish, there wouldn’t be 3-5 of them out there trying to catch fish. I think the Kolea eat only the slower moving fish, so that’s why I didn’t see them trying to make any efforts at eating a fish.
-What kind of fish/animal eat the crabs?
I think bigger fishes would eat the crabs. I think when the tide comes up to it’s peak, that’s when the larger fish come in and eat the crabs. I think things like eels and pufferfishes would eat the crabs.
-Do the birds ever get eaten?
Yes, of course the birds do get eaten. But, I’m pretty sure that they don’t get eaten by anything in the ocean. I think that all of their predators are on the land. For example: The mongoose, dog, cat, etc. Nothing in the water could give it trouble because the bird doesn’t really go into the water, therefore making it very hard for a fish to attack it.
Environmental Pressures:
I think that one environmental pressure would have to be niches. I think that this is an environmental pressure because for example, the fishes that live under the bushes, aren’t going to interact with the fishes that swim freely 10-20 feet out from shore. Another example would be the crabs. The crabs that live on the rocks, on the walls, etc, will rarely interact with the crabs that live in the ocean under rocks. Another environmental pressure would be depth of water. As you go further out into the ocean, different types of fishes exist. But those fishes will never come in closer to shore because it would be too shallow.
Inferences:
-If the tide if lower, then the birds will come because there would be more land area for the birds to walk on and make attempts at finding more fish
-If the tide comes in, then the larger fish will also come in
-If the tide goes out, then there will be less predation due to lack of predator fish
-high tide (last time the tide was really low)
-fairly calm (there was a lot more surf)
-lots of birds perched on wall (last time birds were on the sandy area looking for food)
-lots of surfers/fisherman coming in and out (last time there were less)
-lots of crabs on sandy/rocky area
-lots of little fish by/under the bushes (protection)
-fish are jumping, perhaps predators are present
-Kolea are gone (migration?)
Proposed answers:
-How did the dead fish get into there?
The dead fish probably got there because of fisherman or natural causes. I think it’s possible that a fisherman could have done it because the size of the fish was very large, so it would be very unlikely for a fish of that size to be swimming in water so shallow. Another possibility is that when the tide was very high, it swam into shore, and then the tide lowered and the fish was trapped in here.
-Are the bigger fish preying on smaller fish, or are they parents?
I think that it is a mixture of both. With little baby fish around, that has to mean that there are parent fishes around as well. But then again, with small, defenseless fish, there are bound to be predators preying on them.
-What do the Kolea eat? Are they fast enough to catch fish?
I think that the kolea do eat the fish. I think they eat the fish because if they were too slow to catch the fish, there wouldn’t be 3-5 of them out there trying to catch fish. I think the Kolea eat only the slower moving fish, so that’s why I didn’t see them trying to make any efforts at eating a fish.
-What kind of fish/animal eat the crabs?
I think bigger fishes would eat the crabs. I think when the tide comes up to it’s peak, that’s when the larger fish come in and eat the crabs. I think things like eels and pufferfishes would eat the crabs.
-Do the birds ever get eaten?
Yes, of course the birds do get eaten. But, I’m pretty sure that they don’t get eaten by anything in the ocean. I think that all of their predators are on the land. For example: The mongoose, dog, cat, etc. Nothing in the water could give it trouble because the bird doesn’t really go into the water, therefore making it very hard for a fish to attack it.
Environmental Pressures:
I think that one environmental pressure would have to be niches. I think that this is an environmental pressure because for example, the fishes that live under the bushes, aren’t going to interact with the fishes that swim freely 10-20 feet out from shore. Another example would be the crabs. The crabs that live on the rocks, on the walls, etc, will rarely interact with the crabs that live in the ocean under rocks. Another environmental pressure would be depth of water. As you go further out into the ocean, different types of fishes exist. But those fishes will never come in closer to shore because it would be too shallow.
Inferences:
-If the tide if lower, then the birds will come because there would be more land area for the birds to walk on and make attempts at finding more fish
-If the tide comes in, then the larger fish will also come in
-If the tide goes out, then there will be less predation due to lack of predator fish